


Future of Mutation

by FOM10, Luigigirl16



Series: FOM(Future of Mutation) [4]
Category: TMNT (2007)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-01-03 20:33:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21185579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FOM10/pseuds/FOM10, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luigigirl16/pseuds/Luigigirl16
Summary: Twenty years after the original story, a new mutagen in the form of a boy named Ardel finally arises. The turtles are forced to fight a new foe, while helping out the boy figure out his own past.





	1. Wait, What?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my own AU type of thing and I made it with my friend! If you have any criticism please comment them! Thanks!

It was dark. It was dusty. And it was hard to see. 

I sat up and looked around, my vision blurry and hazy. I placed a hand on my head, I think? I pulled my hand down to look at it, and was shocked. I think it was my hand? I couldn’t really tell, it was...odd. My hand looked like a reptiles, covered in maroony pink-ish scales, and claws coming from the tips of my fingers, like messed up fingernails. 

I suddenly felt a buzz in my pocket, quickly fiddling my hands around until I found it in my purple hoodie, and pulled it out. The phone was cracked with a hello kitty case- gross. I opened the phone up to see a message by a contact labeled ‘Mom’...she seemed worried.

_’Ardel Winston answer me for gods sake! It’s almost midnight!’_

I titled my head slightly and looked through my contacts, only seeing around fifteen..I finally recognized a name...

_Carmen._

I took a breath and pressed the call button, the phone ringing for a moment before I heard a tired voice on the other side.

”Ugh, Ardel? What the hell my guy it’s like- midnight or some shit.”

I suddenly felt a wave of fear and anxiety wash over me, my voice coming out shaky and nervous.

”C-Carmen..something happened- I have no idea where I am and I’m scared- I can’t remember anything and-and-“

”Woah! Little dude calm down, I’ll be there in a second, aren't you at the shop?”

..Shop?..the pet shop. Of course! Duh!

”O-Oh! Yeah-yeah! Please hurry!”

Then she hung up. Leaving me alone...

I found my way out of the broken building and looked around, large apartments and businesses all around...no people though. I looked back at the shop, and let out a small gasp. The shop had a large truck bashed through the front, weird blue and black goo splattered on the ground..I decided to sit down and wait for my friend.

* * *

Carmen made it to the shop about thirty minutes after our call, leaving me to ponder about what happened. She showed up wearing some skates and her usual camo backpack strapped across one of her shoulders. The girl was pale faced with freckles, and reddish-Brown hair pulled to one side, the other side of her head shaved. At the moment she was wearing sweatpants and a jean jacket that belonged to her dad...how did I know that?

She stopped a few feet away from me and gasped in shock, covering her mouth and staring for a solid minute before asking quietly.

”..What happened?”

I looked at her, tears starting to grow in my eyes as I realized...I don’t know. I don’t.

She sighed in understanding and walked over to me, hugging me gently. As she touched me pain shot through my body and I pushed her away, covering my head and trembling.

She stared at me again, shocked for..some reason, before getting a determined look and standing, holding out her hand.

”Follow me, I think I know someone who can fix this.” She turned around and headed down the street. I was hesitant, then quickly ran up to her side. She seemed calm, like... unnaturally calm. And I couldn’t help but ask. “Why are you so calm about this?” 

She glanced at me, then up at the street signs. “Not the weirdest thing I’ve seen. Probably not like this, but still not the weirdest.” I was even more confused, “weirdest what?”

She slyly smirked as we turned down an alleyway, “you’ll see.” She then stopped at a ...Wait, why are we in-front of a manhole? I was about to give voice to my question when she knelt down and picked up the cover, moving it to the side.

no. Nonononononono. “No, I am NOT going down there!” She looked up at me and crossed her arms, "and why not? You want some help, don't you?" 

I lightly shuffled my feet as I looked down, "well... Yeah, b-but. There are doo many GERMS down there. I-i mean, what if I get a Staff infection?" Her face fell into an 'I-don't-give-a-flying-fuck", "don't you have germ-x?" 

I instantly started to pat my pockets, then froze. "No." She sighed, rolled her eyes and grabbed onto the side of the ladder leading down, "well. Man up." And with thar, she slid down the ladder. 

I grimaced but sighed and slowly followed, pulling the lid back on. I froze when my foot touched something wet. I looked down and lifted my foot, gagging at what I could see with the little light given. I took a breath (bad idea on my part) and fully stepped off the ladder.

It took all my nerve to not barf as I looked for Carmen. She was a few feet in front of me with her arms crossed, lightly tapping her left foot. Her arms dropped as he started to turn down the tunnel" "c'mon. We don't have all night." She flipped her hair as she turned but I saw an small smile on her face, as if she'll be seeing someone she knows.

* * *

We made our way down the tunnels, taking turns that I would never be able to remember. I wanted to ask where we were going but she seemed to focus on something. I'm not sure to what but she always seemed to look at where a noise would come from. 

I wanted to ask why but decided against it. I didn't want to ruin her focus, so I paid more attention to our surroundings but stayed close by her. Up until we reached what looked like a regular wall. Unless you liked up. At the top was a small video camera, a stark white compared to the grey of the sewers. 

She reached up and knocked. But not a regular knock. It was a certain knock like a secret code. After a few seconds, the door opened. She peaked in and looked around the room, keeping away from the door. Once she moved back, she sighed. A smirk formed on her lips, "okay. Lets go." not even a step in and something jumped on her. She screeched as her and the other rolled around, until she was pinned under the thing. 

I froze as she sighed, "fine you win Uncle Mike. Now, GET OFF." She slipped a foot between the two and kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying back. I watched as both stoop up, Carmen dusting off her pants while the other flipped onto his feet. It clutched its chest, "dang. You've gotta good kick."

He walked up to her and bowed, "I have taught you well, my neice." She smiled and bowed back, "thank you. Now," she stood up to look him in the eyes, "do you know where Uncle DD is?" The thing tilted its head, as she jabbed a thumb in my direction. My eyes met baby blues and two words stang out. "Aw shell."


	2. Confuzzled

“Wait wait!! Okay uhmmm— Okay I got a name! Caticus!!” Mikey exclaimed happily, Donnie having sat Ardel down on his desk to run a few test on him in the lab.

Leo flicked Mikey in the back of the head, Mikey yelping and rubbing his head in pain. “Ow!! What the heck?!!” Leo raised a brow and sighed. “We have bigger issues than trying to figure out a kids nickname Mikey.”

”This is an odd case of mutation..” Donnie commented, tilting his head as he inspected the fourteen year old, Ardel being very uncomfortable.

“How DD?” Carmen asked, frowning a bit. “Well, mutation with the normal mutagen mutates you with what you last touched, but this kind of mutation seems to be a mix of plant, reptile, and his original human DNA...”

”Is that bad..?”

”Kinda. It could mean we’re dealing with a new mutagen.”

”You CAN’T be serious!” Raphael said, huffing in annoyance. “I mean it’s been twenty years, who in the world would want to experiment with mutagen again?”

”I’m not sure...but I might have to take a blood sample from you kid. Are you okay with that?” Donnie asked, Ardel shaking his head quickly and finally speaking his mind about this situation.

“It can’t be that bad! Sure my hands are kinda messed up but that’s easy to hide...r-right..?” Donnie looking back at the others, each looking a bit uncomfortable about the question. Donnie sighed, then began to look around before finding a mirror- or something like that- and holding it up to Ardel. The boy stared at himself in pure fear.

He now had scales covering a large portion of his olive skin, and cactus spikes poking out of his hair like horns and his back looked like, well, something you would see in a sci-fi...and he hadn’t even noticed that he now had a tail, almost as long as him.

”...oh god- that’s doing a big uh oh for my confidence..”Ardel said, poking at his spikes. “Just be glad you had some.” Donnie said, a small smile on his face. And that earned himself a light smack to the back of his head from Mikey and a "we talked about this Donnie." Donnie then began to draw some blood from the boy, poking a butterfly needle into his skin and letting it set for a minute, nothing coming out.

“Sooooo...How are you all related? And why are you in the sewers? And what in the world are you guys?!!”

The turtles, and Carmen, all looked at each other, before Carmen finally spoke up, and finally answered his questions. 

“Twenty years ago, maybe more, my mom met these turtles. Her mom was an alien, while her dad was human. Her dad was captured by her moms own kind and got tied into all this mess. A guy named Shredder, the worst of the worst, had something called mutagen that could transform anyone into crazy things. After he was defeated by these guys, the mutagen was wiped out, and no one for years has been mutated...”

”Uuuuntil now. Meaning something- or someone- is trying to continue Shredders work.” Leo said quietly, Donnie nodding at the explanation.

”That still doesn’t explain how you guys are related.” Ardel said, a frown on his face. “Well, my mom was pretty much a daughter to grandpa Splinter, so these guys are pretty much my uncles!” Explained Carmen, pushing some curly hair from her face.

”..I have..so many questions..”Ardel said, looking down in confusion.

”Well, your about to have another.”

Ardel quickly looked up and saw something horrifying coming out of him and through the small tube that was inside his vein. His blood was coming out pink and black, almost like the goo from the store, and dripping into the small vile Donnie was holding.

”..That isn’t good.”

”AM I GONNA DIE?!?”

”What?! No! Of course not!...hopefully-“ Donnie said, tapping on the pink fluid in the vial and sighing.“I’m gonna work on this. I would probably go home and try to explain what’s going on.”

Ardel paused, and realized...

”..I..I don’t know my home..”

The turtles, and Carmen, got a worried look, Carmen grabbing Ardels shoulders and lightly shaking him. “Ardel don’t joke like that! You gotta remember-!”

Ardel quickly panicked and shoved her away, covering his head as once more pain course through his body.

Donnie frowned a bit and came to a conclusion. ”Seems like the mutagen in his veins corrupted his memory." He then looked at his niece, "Carmen, do you know where he lives?”

”No, he never really told me where he lived..something about his mom being paranoid and stressed.” Donnie thought for a moment and nodded, patting Carmen’s head with a smile. “Alright, call your mom and see if he can stay with you, since we don’t really have any room here for him." Even though that was false, Donnie still felt bad for making a kid with no memory sleep on a couch.

Carmen brightened up and nodded, pulling out her phone and calling her mother, and getting happy news, after explaining what happened of course.

”Slumber party!!”

* * *

Ardel was greeted by Carmen’s mother happily, as if nothing was wrong with him, and if he wasn’t in so much pain, he would have even considered giving her a hug.

”Hey Ardel! It’s been a while huh?” April said, pushing some red hair from her face. “Casey is out working, so sorry you two won’t be able to play Mario kart.”

”..Who are you? I’m sorry but I don’t really..” Carmen frowned and explained his issue with her mother, April frowning as well. ”Oh..well that’s alright! I’m sure Donnie will get you fixed up in no time! But for now, how about you go get yourself a snack from the kitchen? I bet you two are hungry after that long walk and all this news.”

Ardel quickly nodded, Carmen laughing and leading him into the kitchen, where Ardel quickly began to eat everything in sight. Carmen stared at him as he tore apart some cookies, as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks..

”..Huh, maybe your mutation caused so much hunger..but hell i’m not DD..” And with that, she also started to eat her favorite snacks.

* * *

Back at the lair, Donnie was still looking at the blood sample in confusion, taking notes blindly with his tongue barely sticking out pas his lips. His three brothers watched, they know that when he takes notes without looking with that look on his face, something has REALLY caught his interest. So, Raph scooted a little closer to the genius. 

"What do you see Don?" The other sighed, "three different cells along with a fourth that looks like it is the actual mutagen that seems to have taken the form of a blood cell. By all means, I think that it took the place of a fourth genome in order to keep the mutation stable enough to keep from implosion." He leaned back away from the microscope, "however, if that were the case. But, with the fact that the mutation didn't alter his genome as much as ours did, the mutagen must have been dormant until it came into contact with something else."

He rolled his chair over to his computer and began typing at a speed none of them have seen in years. Not since... "So, you're saying we have another case like April then?" Raph asked, seeming to be the only one out of the other three to completely understand what was said. Donnie nodded, "yeah. Either his mom or his dad was already combined with this-this-" "ARDOMUTAGEN!"

All eyes flicked to the youngest, confusion written on their faces. He lightly smiled, "what? It needs a name, so why not name it after the boy?" Donnie seemed even more confused, "how did you know his name is Ardel?" Mikey lightly smirked, "because I'm the one who taught her how to make friends. Duh. But, how did you know his name was Ardel?" 

He shrugged his shoulders and went back to typing, "she needed some advice to help out a friend." This stumped the other two and Ralph asked, "why didn't she come to us then?" He froze before continuing typing, "n-not that kind of advice."


	3. A New Foe

It had been a solid week since Ardel was mutated, his blood being sucked out of him constantly by Donnie, and his hunger getting worse by the day. Donnie said it had something to do with his plant half, saying he needs sunlight to help his hunger. 

Of course he tried to listen to Donnie, but decided to just open up a manhole and get some light from that instead of going outside during the day.

The sewers, though disgusting and slimy, started to feel like home to the fourteen year old, and he no longer feared the staff infections.

Today, Donnie decided to give Ardel a rest and let him heal up, since his arms and hands where bruised from the butterfly needle constantly being put in his veins. So, Ardel decided to watch Carmen and Mikey skate around, as he sat under the small amount of light one of the many manholes in the sewer offered.

Carmen, at the moment, was trying to not fall off of Mikey’s skateboard, since she was only used to normal Skates. “Okay! Now push yourself forward with one of your feet, and keep leaning forward.” Mikey explained. Carmen followed his directions, but failed and fell flat onto the cement of the sewer face first.

Ardel gasped quickly and stood up, Mikey helping Carmen up as she laughed. “Oh boy!! That brings back memories-!”

Ardel smiled in relief and sat back down. He admired Carmen, her strength, her constant joy, her self confidence. It was amazing how..well...amazing a person could be.

“Hey Ardel! You wanna try?” Carmen asked, facing towards the fourteen year old with a smile. Ardel froze for a moment and shook his head, raising a hand in dismissal. “Nah, you guys seem to be having fun..”

”Come on Caticus! I bet you’ll be great!” Mikey said, encouraging the young boy. “Really, it’s fine...”

Carmen sighed a bit and shrugged, letting Mikey take over and skate around, laughing joyfully. Carmen then sat next to Ardel, watching him with a small smile.

”You know, he’s almost forty right?..I wouldn’t believe it.” Ardel raised his brows in shock..wow, that was actually surprising..he hadn’t ever seen anyone that age even try to skate. “Wow..he aged well.”

”Pft-! Everyone around here does!..other than Raph, his scars give it away.” Ardel laughed a bit with Carmen, and sighed after a few moments.

”..You don’t think I’ll be like this forever..right?” Ardel asked, frowning a bit and looking at his scaled hand. “I..I wish I could say no...but..I’m sure Donnie is getting a breakthrough...soon..”

Ardel nodded before hearing loud and quick footsteps, Leo suddenly coming into view as he skidded to a stop. “Donnie’s got something!!”

* * *

“ENGLISH DUDE!!”

”Okay Okay! Let me put it in terms everyone can understand.” 

Back at the lab, Donnie was currently trying to explain how the new mutagen works, since he had been testing for about a week. And now, he could finally say he knew what it does with confidence.

”So, it looks like the Mutagen inside of Ardel’s blood was activated by the normal mutagen that created us. The 'Ardo-Mutagen' (so cleverly named by Mikey) here in this vile has traces of our original mutagen, or as Mikey would say, our mother. Now, this mutagen is special in one way..it keeps almost forty percent of the DNA of the host and mixes the other sixty with that the host last touched. But, in this case, it was the last two things he touched."

Ardel tilted his head a bit, and nodded, kinda getting everything now. “But why is that mutagen in my blood?”

”Well, Someone could have put it in your system a while ago...this looks like it’s been dormant for at least six years.” Ardel frowned a bit, before Carmen spoke up.

”Hey! Ardel's dad was around then!” Everyone in the room looked at the girl in confusion. “..Explain?” “Well, when Ardel was four, his dad left. And then finally came back into his life when he was six, after that he left last year...everyone thinks he’s dead.”

Donnie thought for a moment, the wheels in his head turning as he nodded, and set the vile of mutagen down.

”Alright, that gives us something then. Ardel, I would suggest you go to April’s for a while, just to make sure your safe. You too Carmen.”

Carmen’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “No way! This is the first cool thing that’s happened in a long time! I want to help!”

”Are you kidding?!! April would kill us if something bad happened to you!” Raph butted in, Carmen growling lowly. “He’s my friend! If he’s in danger than I guess I am to!”

Donnie was about to speak, before Leo interrupted. “Fine. You can help. But for now, you two are staying in the den so someone can watch you, just in case. Ardel, you go to April’s when night comes and get some sleep. You’ll need it.”

Ardel nodded in understanding, with a small smile. “I’ll do my best to help.”

* * *

As night fell upon New York, Ardel quickly walked his way to April’s, finally knowing the way by heart, since he had walked without Carmen for about a week now.

As Ardel walked down the street, he noticed something at the corner of his eye that made him turn, looking around and seeing nothing. He quickly began to move, April’s house only about a block away. He then heard footsteps, once again forcing him to turn and look...nothing.

He decided it was all in his head and would just book it towards April’s, and did just that. Before he could turn one of the last corners something like that of a silhouette jumped down in front of him. He yelled loudly and quickly began to run the other direction, turning just long enough to see large spider like legs come out from the bottom of the- the- the thing!

Ardel heard laughter coming from the thing, and then a shrill and young sounding voice echoed through the empty streets as he ran, fear and adrenaline coursing through him.

”You can’t run Lizard boy!!~ Not forever!”

He quickly ducked into an unlocked car and shut the doors, and then locked everything down, panicking as he reached into his pocket and began to call Carmen, thinking he was safe, but just in case..he let the phone ring for a moment before hearing the females familiar voice.

”Hey Ardel! What’s up?” 

“CARMEN PLEASE HURRY!!! SOMETHINGS-“

He yelled loudly, dropping the phone as the car was suddenly picked up from the ground and raised into the air, the phone sliding under one of the seats.

Ardel screamed loudly, heavy tears flooding down his face as the car began to be crushed, glass breaking and cutting into his skin, as he was pressed against one of the car doors. He thought quickly and reached up, grabbing the door handle and pulling it, and yelling as the door swung open. The boy held on for dear life for at least ten second before dropping down and slipping into and alley, finding a manhole and struggling to pry it open.

The shadowy figure slowly made its way around the corner. Fear pumping in Ardel as he finally shifted the cover just enough for him to squeeze through. He pushed himself down and landed roughly onto the sewers nasty concrete and began to run for his life, turning to see the shadowy figure climbing down the ladder, spider legs and all.

He didn't think. He ran, as far and as fast as he could. He heard the monster chasing him, only causing him to run faster. Up until he slammed into something. Or someone?

He looked up and saw something just as scary as the thing chasing him. It was a giant crocodile, standing far taller than Donnie and way larger than Raph. His eyes, however, held no malice towards him.

The creature reached a hand out for Ardel, "Please be more careful. Just because you are young, does not mean other mutants will be kind to you." Ardel took the hand, allowing the crocodile to help him up. 

But they both froze when they heard the creature behind Ardel let out a loud hiss. The crocodile carefully pushed Ardel behind him, hissing back at the creature, ready to fight. Ardel scooted as far back as he could, spotting a sewage pipe just big enough for him to fit. 

He quietly slid into it as the two creatures had a stand-off. Neither moved, until the female(?) screeched and ran towards the towering croc. He braced himself just in time, catching her fists in his own. With a resounding grunt, he pushed her back and held his ground. 

She hissed and got back up, slowly moving around him. The croc, however, made sure to stay between her and the pipe Ardel hid in. The croc sneered, showing off a mouthful of Razer sharp teeth. This was a warning, a warning to back off and leave. However, the hunter was just as stubborn.

She dove at him, again. But was met with a different tactic. He ducked, grabbed her legs(?) and started to spin her. She smashed into a wall, then was thrown down a different tunnel. The croc gave a deafening roar, daring her to try her luck again. She hissed, slowly getting to her feet. She looked past the towering figure at Ardel. 

She held a shaky hand up and pointed at him while her other hand clenched around her side, "this isn't over Lizard Boy!!" And with that, she quickly sunk away into the shadows.

The croc looked back at Ardel, his eyes returning to their black-greenish color. He lightly smiled, "Well. Seems I was right to come back here." He walked up to Ardel, "Now. Lets get you some help."


	4. Another one?

Ardel quietly sat in a small corner of the subway operation area, the large croc who had saved him making sure everything was running smoothly. Both of them hadn’t said a word for at least ten minutes, so Ardel decided to speak up.”...S-so...I never caught your name..”

”...Leatherhead.”

Leatherhead has saved Ardel from- well- something, and led him to a old subway car that seemed to have some work done on it, probably by Donnie if Ardel had to put a guess to it.”..That’s sounds like a Mikey name.”Ardel said, laughing a bit afterwards. Leatherhead perked up and looked towards the boy, Ardel freezing in place. “..Michelangelo?...Have you met the turtles?”

Oh my god, there was more.

”Oh! Yeah. Me and their niece are friends since we met in school and I got mutated and-“ “How is Carmen doing?” Ardel paused, tilting his head and looking up at the croc. “.Oh, she’s fine. I-I mean- hopefully- if anything she’s probably worried sick because of that phone call.”

Leatherhead suddenly chuckled, making Ardel slightly less panicked. “She always was the kind of child to worry about others.”

”Oh- She’s no child. A-and I wouldn’t call her that if I Where you,” Ardel said, nervously rubbing his neck as Leatherhead nodded. “Duly noted.” As the subway car came to a stop, LH pulled a leaver to make sure the car wasn’t going anywhere, before stepping out with Ardel near a medium sized door, almost like a garage door, but a door made of metal.

”This is a secret entrance the turtles made, just in case something happens and they need to get to the train. However, they allow me come in this way.” Leatherhead said, slowly making his way to the door. His footsteps made a low rumble noise, due to his size, but Ardel was used to loud noises at this point.

The giant croc grunted as he turned the large handle to the gate, a loud 'clang' coming from the other side. When the door opened, he lead the small mutated child through a large hallway like area, until they reached the lair, coming right into the den, a piece of sheet covering the entrance to the exit.

At the moment, Carmen and the turtles where talking on the couch, Carmen having a worried look until she heard the footsteps of Leatherhead. Her eyes widened before actually jumping over the couch and rushing over to Ardel and engulfing him into a tight hug. “WHAT THE FUCK ARDEL?!!”

In that moment, Raph smacked Mikey in the head, Mikey letting out a whimper and rubbing his head. “What the heck?!! Why’d you do that?!!” “Because I’m not allowed to hit a kid, so I’m hitting you.”

Donnie sighed, "and you've been known to teach her those words Mikey." That earned him another wack to the head, "hey!! Okay, okay! i get it, no more bad words!" And then, all eyes fell on the crocodile. In an instant, Mikey had jumped and hugged the giant croc in one of his famous bear hugs, "LEATHERHEAD!!!"

The croc gave him a light smile and hugged him back, "it is nice to see you again too Michelangelo." Once the youngest turtle let go, the other three gave their welcomes, Raph and Leo giving him a hand shake and Donnie gave him a side hug. Carmen, however, was a little confused and her memories seemed to move at a slower pace than everyone else's. "Leather Head??"

She then started to smile as the memories returned, running up and giving his arm a hug. He lightly returned the gesture, "it is wonderful seeing you again Carmen." Her smile brightened, "you owe me ten years worth of hugs."

He lightly chuckled, "I am certain to return those." The family then headed to the couch, sitting around it as Donnie and Leo headed to the kitchen to retrieve some tea for the croc and Ardel. The two could tell that the mutated teen needed something to calm his nerves.

Once the teen had relaxed a little, Donnie decided to update the two of his research. "Well, it seems as if the Ardo-mutagen in your veins can be reversed but it will take time. I'll need to find a way to get some that hasn't been contaminated or activated yet and go through the same process as with the regular mutagen to create a retro-Ardo-muagen." Mikey scoffed, "say that five times fast." That earned a blank stare and the genius went back to his work. Ardel perked up at this, "s-so you're saying. I could be human again?" Donnie hesitated then nodded, "to an extent.

"The Ard-mutagen is something that was created with the original mutagen and something else that I have yet to identify. If I can get a fresh batch, then I'm certain that i can reverse its effects that made you this way." A new hope blossomed in the teen, earning a small smile.

"Oh, and how are you and Kane doing?" Everyone frose at that, then all eyes flicked to the tall turtle. He hid his face in his laptop, hoping they don't see the red tent on his cheeks. Mikey tilted his head, "how do you know about KD?" This time, it was Ardel's turn to blush and hide, "u-uuhhhh. No um n-no certain reason."

They then all heard a different knock at the door, one only Donnie knew. He lightly cussed under his breath (in a different language) and headed straight to the door. A fast as he could, he slipped out of the door with a quick 'be right back'. Two of the three turtles and Leatherhead only watched in confusion, Mikey, Carmen and Ardel all shared a look and they knew exactly who was at the door.

After about a minute or two, Mikey ran up to the door and tried to listen to the conversation outside. When he didn't hear anything, he waved for his siblings to come and see if they could hear anything. Well, they heard something but they knew it wasn't words. So, the two oldest moved the youngest back and slammed open the door.

What the saw was both funny and adorable. A tall, multi-color haired human was kissing the genius turtle, the turtle having to look down with his arms wrapped around to humans neck while the human had the terrapin pinned to the sewer wall. The two looked at the duo (quintet actually but the two oldest didn't notice the small crowd behind them) and the green turtle seemed to turn an amber red when the lovers finally looked at the crowd. The human lightly smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, "hey guys. Sorry for the inconvenience but I need to steal Donnie for an hour."

Leo crossed his arms, "why?" The human looked back at his love, "you forgot to tell them that I planned a date for us, didn't you?" THe other only looked down and nodded, "a-and the other thing." "What other thing?" At that, MIkey and Carmen started to squeal, asking "can we tell? Can we tell?" over and over again.

Donnie instantly shook his head, "nonononononnonono. I-I already h-have it planned, I-I just need to find a good time." The two lightly groaned and Mikey spoke up, "yeah right. You'll never tell." "TELL WHAT?"

All eyes flicked to Raph, arms crossed and anger etched into his face but his eyes showed that he wanted to be in the loop. Leo and Leatherhead also held the same look, confusion instead of anger. The human perked up at this, "well. I decided to ask that one question that everyone wants to either hear or ask and he said yes."

Ardel froze then smiled and started clapping, "congrats Dr. Donnie. Looks like all that doubt was really for nothing, huh?" The turtle nodded, "y-yeah." The others, minus Mikey and Carmen who had ran up and hugged Donnie, seemed confused. They each looked at each other, hoping that one of them might know what the human was talking about. Carmen smiled at the human, "then I'll have an Uncle Kane soon?" She looked up at her favorite uncle, "right?" 

The nod in reply seemed to make all the puzzle pieces snap into place. "Wait, YOU'RE ENGAGED?!?!?!?!?!?!"


	5. Who, what, when, where and why?

The small family sat around in the den, Ardel, Carmen and Kane sitting on the couch, Raph in his bean bag chair, Leo and Mikey sitting in chairs from the kitchen, LH sitting on a larger chair and Donnie sitting on the arm of the couch closest to Kane. Everyone was waiting. For what, though, depended on the person.

Leo and Raph wanted an explanation as to why he said yes, why Donnie never said a thing about it, when this happened, and if Master Splinter gave the okay. LH was waiting for the story of what happened while he was gone. Mikey, Ardel and Carmen only wanted to know the details of the date. Kane and Donnie waited for someone to say something, or to make a sound.

All eyes flicked between each other and the couple, wondering who was going to ask the first question. So, it kind of came as a surprise when Casey and April walked into the tense den, both smiling with bags in their arms. April was the first to notice, "who said what and why is Kane here? I thought he was going on a date with Donnie tonight?" She sat the bags down as Leo scoffed, "he never said anything about a 'date'." Casey then sat his bags down, "really? Kane was all hyped up over it, saying that this will be the 'make-it or break-it' one.

"Speaking of which, ya never did tell us how operation:ring went." Kane smirked and leaned back as a dark blush covered the purple masked terrapin, "what do you think?" Only one look and the married couple knew. April squealed and hugged Donnie, earning a smile and another group hug with the other two fangirls/boy while Casey gave Kane a pat on the back, "congrats man. 

"Never thought you had it in you." Kane playfully smacked the hand away, "yeah right. You thought he'd say no." This seemed to confuse the two oldest brothers even more and Raph openly voiced this, "you knew? A-and you didn't bother ta tell us?!" Casey only shrugged his shoulders, "Kane wanted it to be a surprise and secrets here are known by everyone."

April pulled a seat close to Donnie, "so. How'd it go, what all happened, what's it look like?" More questions seemed to pile onto the already asked ones and Donnie seemed to be more weirded out than anything, never having seen this side of April before. And everyone else seemed to want to know the answers to the questions as well. Donnie held up a hand, "okay. First off, breath. And second, give me a second to understand all the questions that you asked." April nodded and slowly took a breath.

Then, she grabbed his left hand and her smile brightened, "details. Now."

* * *

"Wait, so the entire plan was a bust but you still asked anyways?!" Kane nodded, "well yeah. It may not have ended the way I wanted it to, but he still said yes." Leo and Raph nodded while the fangirls/boy 'aww'ed at that, earning a blush from the genius terrapin. April gave him a side hug, "that's so sweet. Now," she pulled back, "what's it look like?"

Kane reached into his pocket and pulled out matching bracelets, "since he can't really wear an engagement ring, I asked a friend to help me make these." He handed them to April, "the gems are his favorite and I had to add them to make 'em seem more engagement-ish." Donnie lightly giggled, then quickly slapped his hand across his mouth, earning some concerned looks.

He looked down, "h-he has an accent that he doesn't like much." And in a quiet whisper, he said "but I do." Kane smiled at that and pulled the terrapin closer, wrapping his arms around his waist. April looked over the bracelets and smiled at what Donnie had said, "well. These do look amazing, what kind of gems are these?" "Jeremejevite*."

Everyone perked up at that. Most looked at him in confusion, having never heard of that kind of gem before. However, Donnie and April looked at him in shock. "How did you get those?" He snorted as they asked the question at the same time, "one of my siblings know about me and D and she wanted to help. I didn't ask for it but she did it as an early wedding present. Along with this, "he reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin chained necklace with a purple gem on it instead. 

He reached around and clasped it around Donnie's neck, smiling as the other held the gem in his hand. "Is this Amethyst*?" Kane nodded, "that I got myself." Donnie leaned onto him, "thanks." Leo and Raph, however, looked ready to pull the two apart. And it didn't go unnoticed by the family. LH lightly chuckled, "seems as if you may have some trouble getting Leonardo and Raphael's approval. You do have Master Splinter's I hope."

Kane looked over at the large reptile, "of coarse. It's always best to get the parent's approval before asking. My dad instilled that into my head for when I would find the one I would want to spend the rest of my life with." LH nodded, "good. And, you have my approval as well." Donnie's smile grew, "thanks LH."

He looked over at the married couple, "and what about you two?" April only smiled, "I'm okay with this. He seems like the right one for you D." "And you Casey? I am marrying your cousin." Casey only shrugged his shoulders, "kinda cool actually. I get to be related to you guys by marriage and can actually call you guys family now. Just don't do anything _weird_."

That caused a large amount of confusion, especially when Donnie grabbed two pillows off the couch and threw one at Casey's head, saying "shut up cave mouth!" and hiding his face in the other. Then, one small laugh was heard. And after that, the whole family was laughing at the way Donnie had reacted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeremejevite: Very rare mineral of the Borate Class; quite hard and well suitable for jewellery use. However, due to its extreme rarity, it is hardly ever encountered in the gem trade; is piezoelectric(ability to generate an electric charge in response to applied pressure).
> 
> Amethyst:Purple variety of quartz(Quartz is the reference stone for hardness 7 on Mohs´ scale of hardness)


	6. The Huntress

It had been a few days since the incident with the spider, and of learning about Donnie and Kane’s engagement. Carmen and the others were happy for them, while Leo and Raph where a bit less happy that they had been kept in the dark for so long. And for the Spider thing? Well Leatherhead said that he only caught a glimpse of them, and what he saw wasn’t pretty.

As night fell upon New York, Carmen and Ardel had sat themselves on a building, Carmen holding one of the famous T-Phones that she took for herself and painted bright neon pink. They were sitting here, while the turtles where busy actively looking around and snooping in on small things. As the teens sat there, Ardel and Carmen talked about the situation they were in, and how Ardel was still confused by a lot of it. “S-So this has happened before? But worse?” Carmen nodded, her hair in a loose and messy bun.”Yeah, my mom told me about it when I was little.”

Ardel nodded, before finally deciding to ask his questions. “So, you said the turtles are around forty right? But turtles usually live a long time so-“ Carmen sadly interrupted, “their going to outlive Kane, mom, pretty much everyone you’ve met." She sighed, "Donnie did the math a while ago. Right now in human years they are around forty, but in their years their around twenty...crazy right?” Ardel nodded, sighing a bit as his tail swayed back and forth behind him, another question looming in his head, one much more worrisome.

“...What if Donnie isn’t able to fix me? What- what if I can’t ever-. Ever see my family again?” Ardel didn’t really remember much of anything before he was mutated, but every now and then, he would get a small memory flashing at him, and they all seemed so happy. And he wanted that happiness back, no matter what. Carmen bit her lip nervously, looking down at the city below and sighing. “.Well, Donnie is smart. It might take him a while but he’s gonna get you fixed. I promise. Plus, being mutated isn’t so bad!! I mean look at my family! Half of them are mutants or aliens! And their fine!”

Ardel couldn’t help but laugh at that, smiling softly and nodding. “Thanks Carmen. That’s. That makes me feel a lot better.” The two smiled happily, Ardel getting a bit of ease put into him. As the minutes passed, Ardel suddenly felt something weird in the air, quickly looking around as Carmen tilted her head. “What is it? What’s going on?” Ardel didn’t answer, only sniffing the air and standing. As a few seconds passed, something came out of the sky, swooping down and grabbing Ardel by the shoulder with sharp talons, the claws stabbing themselves into Ardel's skin and lifting him off his feet. A shout came from Ardel as Carmen went into action. She grabbed his ankles and tried to keep this thing from flying off with him, Ardel's eyes started to tear from the pain in his shoulders.

Finally, the beast let out a large bird screech and yanked Ardel away from Carmen, Ardel trying to reach towards her with no avail. “CARMEN!!!!” “ARDEL!! KEEP FIGHTING!!” Carmen shouted, quickly dialing the turtles on the T-phone as panic showed on her face.

* * *

Ardel fought with all his might, but with his shoulders where locked between a cage of talons. It was no use. Ardel then tried to talk to the thing, but once again, failed at communication. The last thing Ardel could do was pray, pray that someone came to help him. Finally, Ardel was thrown onto a far off rooftop, his shoulders now bleeding quite a bit as the creature landed a few feet away, towering over him. As Ardel finally got a good look at this monster, his eyes widened, fear striking him even more.

The creature was a large owl, that seemed to be like the turtles, but also had large twigs and branches poking out of its skin, almost like a tree had been growing inside of it. It’s eyes where a light blue, almost human like, but not at the same time. As the creature started to walk forward, Ardel quickly tried to scurry, only to get sharp talons in his back, like his shoulders before. She quickly looked back at the creature as it raised its talons, ready to strike, before something hitting its cheek area, causing it to scream loudly and double back, hiding its head with its wings, as a familiar male stood in front of Ardel. It was Raph, getting a call from Carmen and getting a rundown on what happened..he was just glad he was in the area.

“Ardel, you alright?” Raph asked quickly, looking at the young, scared boy. Ardel nodded, struggling to stand before the Owl creature looked up again, it’s large eyes filled with tears. “W-What what that for?!!” Raph and Ardels faces became shocked...it could talk!! It sounded like a deep voiced woman, while at the same time high pitched in a certain way...somehow it sounded motherly. “...WHAT?!! You almost killed a kid!” “What?!! That’s a liz-" She took a better look at the boy and shocked adorned her face, " oh. OH MY GOSH! I’M SO SORRY!!”

As the creature began to apologize, Ardel finally understood the sudden attack. His tail. “Your hungry aren’t you?” The owl perked up, and nodded, “y-yes .I saw your tail and my instincts kicked in and. Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!!” Ardel made sure to stay behind Raph as the horrified owl talked, Raph slowly letting down his guard. He soon got annoyed with her constant apologizing. He groaned, “alright, alright, shut up already!" She quieted down instantly. Raph sighed, what’s your name?” The owl perked up, then hid behind her wings, shyly shaking her head.

“I uhm...D-Don’t have one.” This made Ardel slightly sad for the creature. She was probably confused. Scared, how he was when he first got mutated. He slowly stepped out from behind the turtle and gulped. “Where- Were you mutated by a pink goo to?” The owls eyes widened, and she began to tear up, remembering the pain she was put through, the suffering, the fear.

Ardel understood, and gave a small smile. “.How. H-How about you come with us?” That, made Raph panic slightly and grab the back of Ardel’s hoodie, lifting him up with ease and lightly shook the boy. “ Are you kidding me?! No way! We can’t just take in everything that’s affected by the Ardo-mutagen. Plus, who knows, this Owl-thing could just be playing dumb!” Ardel understood the hesitation, but shook his head, determination spreading onto his eyes.

“We can’t just leave her alone! She’s hungry, and scared. We have to help somehow.” Raph stared at the boy for a moment, the wheels turning in his head before groaning loudly and dropping him, then crossing his arms. “Fine. But, you're explaining this.”

~~

No one expected the giant owl creature, especially since she consistently thanked them for allowing her to stay, the food Mikey cooked and Donnie checking over her wounds. She gladly allowed the genius to take some blood samples, but then commented on his cleaning skills. This earned a snort and the others could tell that he was not as happy about her being here. 

The air was quiet with anxiety. "Mikey," Donnie asked. The orange masked turtle pooped up beside him, "yeah D?" "I know that I'm gonna regret this but," the genius sighed, "can you give her a name?"

Baby blue eyes lit up with excitement, "really?!" Donnie nodded and before anyone could say anything, Mikey shouted out, "LUNA!"

The others froze, then looked to the owl. She tilted her head, as if contemplating the name. She then lightly smiled, "I like it. From now on, my name is Luna." The name seemed to get mixed reviews, but most liked it. "Luna is it, then."

* * *

The first thing the turtles woke up to was, oddly enough, the smell of breakfast being made. Leo was the first up, and headed into the kitchen to see Luna and Mikey cooking, Mikey seeming to teach her. Her ears perked up and she looked behind to see the leader of the brothers. She lightly smiled, "good morning Leonardo. Michelangelo is just teaching me how to cook so I could help out as compensation for you all helping me."

The other nodded and looked behind when he heard footsteps, seeing his younger brother. Raph looked like he was heading to the shower but stopping in front of Donnie's door. "You think he ever went to sleep last night?" Leo only shrugged his shoulders, "hard to tell. He now has to make retro-Ardo-mutagen for two. But knowing him, he probably passed out on his desk again."

Raph nodded, "you want me to get him?" Leo nodded, "yeah. We have morning training, and I don't want him to go a whole week without practice." The hot-head nodded and headed across the lair, stopping in front of the lab doors. He knocked, listened, then pounded his fist against it. He smirked as even Leo heard a yelp and crash from inside the lab.

He lightly scoffed at Raph's antics but the door opened to show the genius turtle, a fire in his eyes for the rude awakening. However it died the minute his amber reds met emerald, "oh. Raph, why am I not surprised." He yawned and pushed the other aside, exiting the lab. Raph scoffed and headed to the kitchen, sitting in his seat. Mikey met Donnie half-way with a fresh cup of coffee, earning a small, tired smile from the taller terrapin.

The two headed to the kitchen, Donnie taking small sips from the cup. He nodded towards Leo and sat at the table, "so. What are today's plans? I was hoping to talk with Ardel later, and it would help to get a good idea of the time frame I have." Leo lightly rolled his eyes at his brother's planning, "just regular training today." That earned a small nod, "and where's LH?"

Mikey perked at that, "he should be asleep in the train. He said that he'll be staying for a while." Another nod and Donnie finished his cup, "good. I was hoping for that." Raph scoffed, "care to share whatever's goin' on it that big brain of yours?" The genius stood up and headed to the coffee pot, "I was hoping to teach Ardel some fighting techniques to protect himself with." He grabbed the coffee pot and started to refill his cup, "however, I can't help with the tail so I was hoping that LH and I could work together on that part."

He leaned against the counter top and took a sip of coffee, letting the other three take in his idea. "Why you though? We all know how to fight." Donnie lightly smirked, "how good is your hand-to-hand combat?" Raph froze at that, causing the other two to snort and the smirk to grow. "That's what I thought."

Raph lightly growled, "whatever. Let's just go and get training over for the day." The other three nodded and Mikey looked towards Luna, "think you can finish?" The bird nodded, "mhm. It should be done by the time you four are done." That earned a large smile from the youngest turtle, "good. Holler if you need any help." 


	7. Mistake or Masterpiece?

The idea of being trained in hand-to-hand combat seemed like a bad idea to Ardel. But, Donnie did have a good point; he needed to be able to protect himself in any confrontation, even if it's just stalling. Those extra few seconds could mean the difference between life and death. So, after a long excruciating wait, Ardel agreed.

Now, the two reptiles had a good idea of what to do. They already started creating moves just for the mutant, combining Donnie's combat experience with LH's fighting experience using his tail. And it seemed to work. Until Ardel learned that controlling his tail is harder than it looks. Let's just say, bruises ensued on both Ardel and, mostly his opponent, Donnie. After an hour, the three decided to continue the training another day. Mainly because all three ended with some sort of sprain.

Once back at the lair, they all heard an 'oooh' from the three other turtles at the bruises they had gained, watching as they winced. Mikey quickly ran to the kitchen and retrieved as many cold ice packs as possible, LH sitting on the ground, Ardel plopping on the couch and Donnie flopping onto the floor. In total; Ardel and fallen around 27 different times, tripped LH 3 times, smacked LH 7 times, tripped Donnie 5 times (landing on his face 3 of those 5 times) and smacked Donnie with his tail a total of 12 times, not counting the time he tripped then smacked him in one move.

Mikey only sighed and started handing out the ice packs, placing most on Donnie. Ardel lightly chuckled embarrassingly, "Sorry Donnie." The other only groaned, but didn't move. LH lightly chuckled, "do not mind him Ardel. He is only tired and trying to stay awake." The next second, a small whistle could be heard, earning a snort from Mikey. Ardel, however, was confused. "The heck is that?" Raph sighed as he entered the living room, "Donnie. He's out like a light."

~~

The training continued, accidentally heightening Donnie's reflexes with how fast Ardel's tail likes to smack him. And soon, Ardel became able to dodge enough attacks to land a hit of his own. That didn't last long, but it is progress. The three talked back and forth, spewing ideas on how to help Ardel better gain the training he needs. However, the happiness died down when Leo rushed up to the three, "we gotta go. The Purple Dragons just started another bank rob in a different area but something happened."

The two taller beings shared a look but allowed him to continue, "something came and stopped them. Swooped them up and took them away. Raph and Casey are following it, but they say that it's big and don't want to risk it."

"What about Ardel? A-and Luna? We can't really leave them alone, can we?" Leo sighe, d"Iknow but-." His T-phone went off, signalling a message. He pulled it out and unlocked it, quickly reading the message. He became stumped, "huh. Raph just texted that the thing dumped the Dragons at the police station, then disappeared. He said that he'll do another quick sweep of the area but then head home." He lightly shrugged his shoulders, "maybe it's a new vigilante like us." 

LH and Ardel only shrugged their shoulders and headed to the couch while Donnie seemed to become intrigued, "disappeared? As in, vanished? It doesn't seem possible, unless it found a way to hide like us."

* * *

It was late. Ardel was on the couch softly swaying his tail so he could excersize it a bit, and watching a late night show with a lot of cursing. Carmen sat beside him, snoring as she slept, Ardel slightly annoyed by the loudness of it.

Everyone else had retired to their rooms, other than master splinter, who was in the dojo. He never seemed to come out of it anymore. The turtles say it’s because of old age, and how he likes meditating. But Ardel didn’t really believe that, and the others didn’t either.

He slowly got up from the couch and walked over to the dojo door, his clawed hands trembling lightly. He hadn’t really talked to the rat at all, or even introduced himself. He took a big breath and gently knocked on the wood of the door, waiting for a moment.

”Enter.”

Ardel slightly jumped at the raspy voice, but slowly opened the sliding door and stepped inside. “U-uhm. Mr.Splinter?” The old mutant was in the middle of the room, his legs crossed and in meditation mode. Ardel felt guilty for interrupting him.

“Uhm- I wanted to ask a few questions about, Well. E-everything. The turtles said your super wise and humble, and I’m just- the total opposite- and I just wanted to know a few things. That I don’t really understand.”

The old rat took a breath in, then exhaled, and opened his eyes, a small smile peeking onto his face as he patted the space beside him. Ardel gulped and walked over, sitting beside the male and crossing his legs, which wasn’t very comfortable with his scales.

"What is it that you wish to know, Ardel?" That seemed to shock the younger one, "how did-?" Master Splinter released a small laugh, "just because I am in this room does not mean I do not know what goes on in my home." "O-oh," Ardel stuttered. He then sighed and looked down, "you were once human. Right?" Splinter sighed and closed his eyes, "yes. I once was human but an accident happened that transformed me into what you see. However, it also created my sons." Ardel nodded, lightly shifting, "do you-". He bit his bottom lip, "do you regret it? The accident and everything?"

His blue eyes looked up to meet dark crimson, "no. I do not regret it. Not once." The rat lightly shifted, "now. If you do not mind, I would like to ask you some questions." Ardel nodded, "sure." "Why do you think I would regret such a thing?" 

He froze at that, then looked down at his hands. "I. I don't know. I mean, I thought that you would want to be human again, ya know. Go above the surface, meet a nice girl and settle down above ground." Splinter lightly smiled but shook his head, "I see. Ardel, it does not matter what happens to us. It only matters how we deal with the problem at hand. With the right mind, you can turn a mistake into a masterpiece."

Ardel sat in silence, allowing that to sink in. "Is that what you did? Instead of leaving the four alone, you took them in as your own." That earned a soft smile, "yes. I turned my problem, what would be considered my greatest weakness, into my greatest strength. I raised four children, turned them into fine men and taught them how to defend themselves, inadvertently, saving the world. If I had not been mutated with them, where would we be now?"

Ardel lightly smiled, "Leo is right. You are very wise for an old rat." Splinter lightly scoffed, "well. This 'old rat' still has some tricks up his sleeves. Now, I believe that it is time for you to get some rest. It is best you be well rested for your sparing practice with the four tomorrow." Ardel nodded, stood up and bowed in respect, "thank you for your wisdom."

He then turned around and headed to the door, "and get some rest as well." He closed the door behind him, his soul lifted out of his funk. He then headed back to the couch, seeing Carmen curled up in a corner and Donnie laying a blanket on her. His red eyes looked up to meet Ardel's, lightly smiling and placing a finger over his mouth in a 'shhh' motion. Ardel nodded and sat on the other end of the couch. His eyes roamed over the other, seeing the distinct bruises his tail had caused. 

Donnie could tell that the other was staring. He sighed and knelt in front of the boy. His voice barely above a whisper, he spoke. "Bruises will heal, cuts will heal. It's not your fault that you didn't have complete control of your tail. But, now you do and you don't need to worry about anymore accidental bruises.

"Besides, getting hurt is apart of life. You can't change it, you can only work around it." Ardel nodded, but the idea of him creating such big bruises on him still had him on edge. "H-how are we going to spar tomorrow?"

Donnie sighed and sat on his legs, "I was thinking that me and my bros could do blindfold fighting with you fighting regularly. It would just be blocking and hitting though, no weapons for us as to not risk hurting you. LH and Carmen are just going to watch."

Ardel nodded, "okay. But, why are you guys blindfolded?" Donnie scoffed, "helps keep our reflexes in check and gives you an edge over us. Anyways," Donnie stood up and handed him a blanket, "get some rest. I know the couch isn't the best place but Luna stole my room and I usually end up pasted out in the lab."

Ardel looked down at the blanket, a sent wafting off it. "Who's is this?" Donnie scoffed, "who's does it smell like?" And with that, he left. The other rolled his eyes but decided to focus on the sent from the blanket. He knew that it was male-female. Wait, he sniffed the air, flicking his tongue. Female, insect of some kind. Why would a-. He froze as he heard footsteps walking closer, none that sounded familiar. He ducted down behind the couch, looking over the side and watching the door. 

He nearly jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, looking over to see Donnie knelt beside him. Donnie made the same 'shush' notion as before, then pointed to where his ears would be. Ardel nodded, and the two watched. He felt three more presences behind him, taking a quick glance to see Leo, Raph and Mikey. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see LH hiding in the tunnel leading to the rail line. Above, he spotted Luna hiding in the ceiling, all waiting with baited breath.

What came through, Ardel remembered her. The weird arachnid hybrid from before. LH released a soft, harsh growl. A warning, earning more from three of the turtles. Carmen awake instantly, but stayed still when she spotted her uncles. She barely looked over the couch, then ducked back down just as quick.

“Well, Well, Well. Look who it is! Four turtles, a human, a traitor, a nasty crock and-Oh, and a lonely lizard. Well, how cute~”

Ardel trembled, his eyes widening at what he saw. It was a girl, but you could barely tell. She was a mix between a moth and a spider, having long spider legs coming out from her torso and two ‘normal’ arms coming out the same way. She had eight eyes with sharp fangs, and wings that looked fairly delicate. To add to the nightmare factor, she had a shock collar around her neck, that was barely seen through the mothy fluff.

“Do not fear her, Ardel.” Leatherhead said, hissing at the girl and getting ready to ram into her, but that only made her smirk. She had been holding something in her palm, pressing a button, and making the small piece of plastic grow into a shock stick, something used for animals, and dodging the crock, shocking him right in the side and causing him to scream.

”LEATHERHEAD!!” Mikey yelled, his eyes widening in shock and fear as the other turtles prepared to fight, Leatherhead falling to the ground, steaming. “it must have been tinkered with, because that was one hell of a shock.” Donnie said quickly, keeping his staff at the ready. 

“Ardel, Carmen, take Luna and get out of here! Use the secret exit-“ “No! I ain’t leavin.” Carmen said, looking at Leo, who had given the order. Before Leo could speak the little mothy girl laughed, her many eyes growing with malice and insanity.

”You're all fucking screwed.” She said very in a slow sing-song voice as she showed off her rows of teeth, scaring Ardel enough to make him back away, whimpering. “Aww, is the lizard boy scared? Well you fucking should be.”

Carmen growled, and had about enough, grabbing the closest thing nearest to her (a vase) and ran at the moth girl, the turtles yelling at her to stop. But it was to late, as Carmen threw the vase, the mothy child simply blocked it with the shocking stick, that she tried to use on Carmen, but Carmen was smart. She quickly ducked and sweeped the girl’s feet out from under her, then grabbed the shock stick by the handle, pretty much wrestling with her for a moment. The turtles went into action, quickly wanting to save their niece, Donnie only staying behind long enough to tell Ardel- “Run!” And getting into the fight.

And it begun, Carmen being kicked in the gut by the moth girl and forced to roll of her, the child still having the shocking stick in hand. It took all four of the turtles to separate the girls, Leo and Raph pinning the moth mutant down while Mikey held Carmen back. In between the two stood Donnie, holding the shock stick up and off. The moth girl fought back, yelling out as the two held her down, words none could make out correct. "Mamochki! Pomogi mne!" She then tried to fight back with more vigor, causing LH to be added to the duo holding her down. "Ardel," Donnie asked.

The boy popped up from his hiding spot, "needle reading knock-out. Now." Ardel rushed to the lab and went straight to the drug area, looking through all the needles. When he found it, he rushed back to a sight none understood.

No one had moved much, especially Donnie. On his front was the moth girl, arms curled around his midsection and head dug into the side of his neck, one arm wrapped around her to help balance the weight on his chest. Her voice whispered one simple sentence, repeating it over and over again; "Pozhaluysta, mamochka, ne pozvolyay im prichinit' mne bol' snova." He stood stiff, the others ready to separate the two if need be. Carefully, Donnie reached for the needle. Ardel placed it in his hand and pulled off the plastic cap. In one swift movement, he quickly injected the girl with the drug. However, it didn't work as fast as he hoped.

The girl hissed and bit down on him, digging her nails into his side. He bit his tongue, trying not to release a noise, clenching his hands closed, along with his eyes. He slowly relaxed as the drug finally took effect. The girl pulled back off his neck, yawned and nuzzled into his chest, falling asleep.

Donnie took a long overdue breath and held her with his arms, "good job Ardel." All eyes where on his worst wound, on his neck. It bled down his shoulder and followed each scar and scale he had. Raph slowly walked up to the injured turtle, letting him lean on him. Donnie seemed relieved about that and the family headed to the lab, LH already looking for the first aid kit. Mikey rushed off to get a bucket of warm water and washcloths to wash the blood off. Leo helped Raph set Donnie on the cot, then tried to separate him from the moth girl.

In all honesty, Ardel and Carmen couldn't help but snort and hold their mouths closed. The moth girl would not let go, holding on as if her life depended on it. After a couple of tries, the two gave up, instead helping with taking care of his wounds. Leo sighed, "no practice for you. Especially with the neck bite, we don't need it opening and you bleeding out." 

Donnie nodded, "alright. Is April and Casey coming? They always like watching our blindfold fights." Raph lightly scoffed, "oh yeah. And Casey wants to join in as well, so he'll take your spot. Besides, you're overqualified for it. With that sense of sound you have, you'd destroy us on the spot." Donnie nodded, absentmindedly petting the fluff of the moth girls neck. He noticed it in the back of his mind, the fuzzy fur seeming to help him keep focus on his surroundings.

Her grip lightly tightened, nuzzling closer to him. No one decided to go against it, seeing as how he was able to reverse the way she acted in seconds with just a few words. And no one knew what words he used or what he said in the first place.

"Hey Uncle DD?" Donnie looked over at his niece, "yeah. what's up?" She carefully sat beside him, "what did you say to her? We know you said something but we don't know what or how you were able to get her to calm down."

He sighed, "I told her 'Vam ne nuzhno boyat'sya. YA ne sdelayu tebe bol'no, nikogda.'* Before you ask, it translates to 'You do not need to be afraid. I will not hurt you, never." Leo furrowed his eyebrows, "then what the heck did she say back?" Donnie sighed, "she asked if I promised." "Did you?"

He lightly scoffed, "yeah. I knew that it would do something positive and that she needed to calm down. She attacked for a reason and that we need to know. No one carries a weapon like that, not without a reason." LH sighed, "then what do you suggest?" "I think that she's being controlled by some one, someone we've never met before but knows that we can do things that could disrupt their plans."

He lightly winced as the string was tied and cut, earning a small sorry from the large gator. He sighed when the other started to wrap the wound, making sure that no blood would escape. "You should be grateful, it was only her incisors that punctured your skin. If it were her fangs, you would have lost much more blood."

Donnie sighed, "yeah. Mikey, remember what you used to make for one of us when we dealt with blood loss?" Mikey nodded, "yeah. Make that for you tomorrow?" Donnie nodded, "yeah. Gonna need it."

Ardel seemed a little confused, "then what did she keep whispering to you?" The group noticed as he stiffened, as if trying to decide what to say. "She said... She said, 'please don't let them hurt me again." Now that left two major questions; did she mean the family or someone else? The other question was voiced soon, however. 

"So," Raph started, "what do we do with her?" They all looked at the small girl sleeping against Donatello, unsure what to do with her. They know that she is probably being controlled, meaning that if she left, she would tell of their whereabouts. And, they didn't need that risk. Especially with how Splinter is now. They needed to be careful about their next move, especially since they now know of her bite force. 

Leo sighed, "I don't know. Honestly, I don't know." He looked over to Donnie, about to ask his opinion, but stopped at what he saw. Donnie had fallen asleep, sitting up, with a small smile on his face. The girl nuzzled closer and his grip tightened. Leo scoffed but couldn't help the small smile, "well. Seems as if that answers the question. We can't let her go back because, if she's being controlled, she would tell of our whereabouts. If she's not, then she probably doesn't have a home and had to learn to fend for herself, especially with her fighting skills that she shown us."

Mikey sat on the other side of the sleeping terrapin, "and it looks like Donnie doesn't want to let her go." LH sighed, "would you like me to move him to his bed, Leonardo?" Leo sighed, "yeah. It's best that he sleeps in a bed and not sitting up, like last time." The large gator nodded and carefully picked Donnie up, still holding the girl, and headed out of the room, Mikey leading the way to open any doors. Leo then turned to Carmen, "hop up. You know Donnie will go nuts if he sees that cut on your shoulder."

Carmen sighed but followed orders and hopped onto the main chair, allowing her oldest uncle to clean and bandage the wound. She looked at Ardel, "still confused?" The boy nodded, but she just waved it off, "hey, it could be worse. One story I heard was that their original home was found and blown up, leaving uncle Leo incapacitated and they had to go to my mom's summer home for a while." He sighed and looked down, "think that'll happen again?"

Raph scoffed, "yeah right. Donnie's beefed up the security so much that all of us would know about anything three blocks to close for comfort." He lightly smirked at that, "there's no way anything could get passed his security." "But she did." He only shrugged his shoulders, "probably cut a few wires. Or snuck in when me and Mikey came back. Only two reasons I know of."

Leo sighed and stood up, "well. Whatever reason, let's hope that Donnie can change her to our side. If not," he sighed, "we might just have another Shredder in New York." The group couldn't help but look at the door leading to the bedrooms, hoping that his accusation was false. But, it's hard to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got bored and put in some Russian.


End file.
